All I Want For Christmas, Is You
by merdermcdreaming
Summary: Meredith and Derek holiday Fic. Lots of love, fluff, cuteness, humor, and holiday fun! :  DISCLAIMER: Grey's Characters belong to Shonda Rhimes.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Well, I was really in the Christmas spirit the other day, probably overwhelmed by the amount of holiday cheer that come with Thanksgiving. So I decided to start a five-part Meredith and Derek Christmas Fic. This fic is not based off of any holiday episode, just so you're aware. The five Parts will go in this order:**_

**The overview of Christmas Eve**

**Putting up the Christmas lights**

**Dinner**

**Night Presents**

**Christmas Morning**

_**It'll probably make more sense after you read this first chapter. So, if you can't tell, it's basically my version of a Christmas together. This is the overview, and then each new chapter kind of goes into detail about it. I really hope you enjoy this! Happy Holidays!**_

Meredith sat at the kitchen table, digging into whatever cereal she had happened to pull out of the cupboard that morning. She took another bite of Derek's classic health nut cereal, that kind that resembled tiny flakes of cardboard mixed with a jumble of overly-crunchy nuts. She took another hearty bite and chewed, the sound echoing in her mouth. She rubbed her arms in an effort to warm herself up even the slightest bit. December sure was cold.

"What are you doing?" Derek called from the other room. He flowed in easily, taking stomping strides in an effort to get rid of the snow laden in puffs across his boots. He kissed her nose and she scrunched up her face in a curious smile.

"Um, I'm eating cereal," She mumbled. "It's bad, by the way. It tastes like cardboard. Maybe it is cardboard, with all this fiber it has in it…" She scoffed and studied the purple box.

Derek ignored her remark and smiled, pouring a cup of coffee for himself. Steam rose as it sloshed into the cup. "No, I mean, what are you doing? Sitting there."

She narrowed her eyes cautiously, "Its something called eating breakfast. Most humans do it in the morning," Derek chuckled, pulling of his winter hat to reveal a frantic mess of hat hair.

"It's December 24th, Meredith!" She screwed up her expression and blinked unknowingly at him. He rolled his eyes and took a gulp of his coffee, his Adams apple bobbing as it poured down his throat. "Tonight's _Christmas eve." _He clarified, smiling as he went over to the calendar and made some sort of mark against the shiny paper. The marker squeaked.

Meredith gasped and squinted outside, "Really?" Sure enough, down the street there were wreaths displayed that had fresh layers of snow laden across them, and enough snow danced around in the air, falling softly and adding to the layers of white already on the ground.

"Yeah!" Derek sighed, exasperated. "That's why I took work off…" She blinked obliviously, "That's why _everyone _took work off, Meredith!" Meredith nodded, as if finally getting it.

"Oh…" She took one last bite of the putrid cereal and shoved it down her throat before pushing the bowl away from herself. It screeched across the wood table. Derek looked at her, cocking his head to the side.

"We have to get a tree."

"Pardon me?" Meredith murmured, scrambling to her feet and dumping the bowl into the sink as it clattered. She turned the sink on, and the pressurized spray interrupted the quiet. Derek nodded, walking over next to her slowly.

"Of course we do! It's Christmas. I'm sure we'll be able to grab one this morning, if we go fast. Maybe we can go after we put up the lights." He flashed his eyes to his wrist, even though he didn't have a watch on. Meredith shut off the sink and rolled her eyes.

"Seriously?" She paused, "Wait, lights?"

"Seriously," Derek confirmed for her, a grin breaking out across his cheeks. He placed his hands on the crook of her hips and spun her around so she faced her. She whined and cocked an eyebrow up. Derek smiled at her, "Come on, please?" She smiled softly and rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. He cocked his head to the side and squeezed her hips gently, "Please?"

She laughed and looked at him, kissing him on the cheek gently. "You really know how to sucker me into anything, don't you?"

"It's a life skill."

XXX

"So what does one usually look for when picking out a tree?" Meredith hummed thoughtfully as they treaded through the heavy layer of snow that blanketed the ground of the fields with pine trees lined up, row by row. She fiddled with a branch through her gloves.

"Well, that depends," He asked, then paused. "Have you ever done this before?" His face lit up in a smile and turned to look at her.

"Uh…not really. My parents weren't really ever very Christmas-y. The biggest decoration we had was a candy cane. Or maybe it was wreath…" She trailed off. "Well, in retrospect the wreath was for Thanksgiving. We just pulled the leaves off and put a bow on it." Derek chuckled and looked at her in awe. She was just so beautiful. Her black hat had white flakes of snow on it, and her hair was wavy and shiny as usual. Her black knee-length coat was tied tightly and was dotted with snow as well.

"Okay. Okay," He accepted. He used his gloved fingers to pull a spare flyaway hair out of her eyes. Snow dusted his eyelashes. He whirled around and led them through the field some more, and Meredith carefully stepped in his deep tracks. "Well, what kind of tree do you want?"

"Um…" She pondered, looking at him hopefully. "A pine tree?"

"I was thinking a little more specific than that," He said with a grin, stomping through the snow which seemed to be getting a little deeper than before. His eyes scanned back and forth across the rows of trees. Meredith looked upon them as well, hopefully wishing that one would catch her eye and they could end the wild goose-chase that was making her seem like an idiot.

She somewhat felt bad for the trees. They were the leftovers, the ones that were a little crooked, the ones that were too short, too fat, too small, too tall; They were the unwanted ones. _Poor trees, _Meredith thought.

"What about this one?" She asked aloud, turning to face a pretty, medium sized Balsam Fir tree. Its shade dark green was speckled with flecks of fallen snow, and a tuft of the white powder blanketed the stuff. She adjusted her hat, looking up at it. Derek came beside her, fingering the branches. It was a good size, fat and about 7 feet tall, but it _was _crooked. The top crown was bent in an S-Shaped swerve, and Meredith grinned despite herself. It was unique.

Derek looked at her face, which was beaming from accomplishment, and he nodded. He couldn't resist the pure joy that enveloped her eyes and her smile. "It looks good, Meredith. I think this is our tree."

XXX

"I can't believe you couldn't just ask if they could help, Derek!" Meredith muttered, angry and annoyed, referring to Derek insisting that they could get the tree into the house on their own. The engine clicked and roared as they pulled into the driveway.

"_Are you sure you don't need any assistance, sir? It's only 10% of the cost of the tree."_

"_No, thanks. We can handle it just fine on our own." _

"Mer, we can do this, come on! It can't be that hard. I used to help my dad with it all the time, alright?" Derek grumbled with a slight reassurance as he turned the car off. The humming of the engine stopped abruptly, and he pulled his gloves back on with a sigh.

"It's a big tree!"

"Yeah, well, it's a good thing our doorway's big, isn't it?" Derek retorted with a grin, already out of the car and shutting the door. Meredith huffed and pulled her gloves on.

"It's not!" Meredith protested, fixing her hat that was tipping off her head and hopping out of the warm car. Freezing air nipped at her skin and she shivered, buttoning her coat. Atop their car, which Derek was already beginning to ease off, sat the Christmas tree, tightly tied up and bound together. He rolled it off the top and it hit the ground with a slam, about three inches from Meredith's feet. "Careful, mountain man!" She scowled, a little grin curling across the corners of her lips. Derek rolled his eyes and climbed down from the side of the car, shaking his head with a smile.

"Okay, are you ready to do this?" He questioned rhetorically.

"No, we're just going to leave it out here in the snow. Yes, we kind of have to do this, alright?" She squatted down and slowly reached her hands underneath the pine, licking her lips that were dry with the cold winter air. She put the other hand on top and made a gesture as if she was hugging it tightly, slowly beginning to rise up from the ground. Derek mimicked her movement until they had it lifted. They slowly made their way up the steps, the tree teetering uneasily between them.

The pine needles scratched Meredith's face as she tried to provide more support by letting it somewhat rest on her shoulder, "Derek! Don't let it fall!"

"I'm trying!" He said defensively, his voice muffled on the other side of the pine needles as they eased it closer to the door.

The door…which was closed.

"Well isn't that just perfect," Meredith scowled, breathing heavily from the tree she held in her hands.

"Can you reach it?" Derek called from the other side. The tree teetered more and Meredith bit her lip, trying to shift her weight towards the door. She let go of one hand and grabbed it, securing her gloved fingers around the cold metal.

"I got it…I got it!" She shimmied with the handle, before realizing that they had locked the door before they left. She sighed in frustration and reached into her pocket with her free hand, while Derek attempted to hold most of the trees weight in his. It rocked back and forth as if it was on a wave. Her keys jingled in her pocket as her fingers finally reached them, yanking them out as they clanged together. She used her teeth to differentiate between each of her multiple keys. Her teeth chattered as she found the right one, shakily shoving it into the key slot. As she kicked the door open she grabbed the tree, dropping her keys to the snowy ground on the porch. She and Derek heaved the tree in, literally tossing it on the ground of the foyer. Snow spread all around it as it fell of on the sudden impact. Meredith shut the door to the winter wonderland behind her, the snow falling fast. "Well, wasn't that just a joy?"

"It was. Next adventure: Getting it up on the tree stand," Derek clarified with an eye-roll and a grin. She smiled back at him, catching her breath. She pulled of her gloves, her fingers shaking from the weight she had been holding.

Getting the tree upright and secure was much easier. They grabbed it and shoved it into the messy living room, securing it to the tree stand Derek had set up that morning. It took them a few tries but they did it, and Derek smiled happily, obviously feeling accomplished with all that they had done. He shimmied out of his coat and yanked off his hat revealing a head full of tousled hair. "I'll go get the scissors to cut off the wrapping, alright? You can go change if you want," The bottom of Meredith's jeans were soaked from the snow, and clung to her ankles and shins uncomfortably. Meredith smiled and kissed him before padding gently into the foyer, hanging both of their coats off on the rack. She ran her hands through her hair, flicking her eyes back to the snow that fell rapidly outside. Her expression dropped suddenly.

"My keys!" She muttered indignantly, yanking on her boots and gloves and grabbing the cold handle of the door. She threw it open and stomped outside onto the porch, frowning when she saw how much snow had fell since they had last been on the porch. The new snow had completely blanketed everything else, and she couldn't see her jumbled keys anywhere. She scowled, "Just my luck."

She dropped down on the porch, ignoring the fact that she wasn't wearing a jacket nor wearing snow-pants of any sort. A chill from the freezing powder shimmied up her spine, and she frowned even more as she flicked the snow around, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of her keys. She spread her arms out more and waved them across the porch like a windshield wiper, her hair already getting wet from the snow, given that she hadn't worn a hat either. She muttered curses at herself and silently scolded her stupid memory. Who drops their keys on the porch in the middle of a snowstorm? Apparently her.

By the time she finally saw the shine of metal deep within the snow, she was completely soaked. The show had melted all over her and drenched her completely. She scrambled up to her feet, shivering, and clasped the keys in her hand. She stomped back inside and slammed the door behind her. Much to her surprise, Derek stood behind her, looking amused. She whirled around, "What?"

Derek shrugged, shaking his head with a smile, and walked away chuckling to himself.

XXX

"This recipe makes **no sense!" **Meredith complained with a scowl, pulling her hair back repeatedly into a ponytail. Derek rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time. He had already prepared the dinner, and that just left making gingerbread cookies. Derek had insisted on making them, and Meredith had insisted on helping him: Something she would soon regret.

"Did you even read it?" Derek said in astonishment, pulling some more ingredients out of the fridge.

"Of course I read it, Derek!" She defended herself, flipping over the flimsy recipe card to see if there were any clarifications on how to do anything. She hadn't even mixed anything and she was already confused. "This is why I don't cook."

Derek placed the ingredients on the counter and looked it over with her. The snow flurried outside as it began to get dark. "It says, 'In a large bowl, cream together the dry pudding mix, butter, and brown sugar until smooth.' Then you're supposed to stir in egg," He studied her exasperated expression, "Is it really that hard?"

"It is to me!" She huffed, grabbing a large bowl. She shook the dry pudding mix- which she didn't understand why she needed- butter, and brown sugar. She whipped it together furiously, her arm going as fast as a pedal on a bike. She bit her lip and threw the egg in. She pulled a piece of her hair back and turned to Derek. "There!" She demanded. Derek looked from her, to the bowl, then back to her. He burst out into a fit of laughter, that only made her more furious. "Stop laughing at me!"

"Meredith, you're supposed to crack the egg, **first,**" He clarified, trying to get his breathing under control, which was proving to be very difficult. Every time he looked at the whole white egg in the bowl he cracked up again, clutching the counter to stabilize himself.

"Shut up, Derek!" Meredith whined, feigning anger as she grabbed the egg, cracked it, then stirred. "There! Now you do something, you can't just sit around and laugh at me, mister!"

Derek smiled and shook his head at her, combining the dry ingredients of the recipie and stirring them into the mixture, "Okay, now we need to chill them for one hour. Want to cover this and put the bowl in the fridge?"

She smiled and scowled at him, "I think I can manage that."

XXX

One hour later, after heating the oven to 350 degrees, Meredith and Derek were busy using his effigy Christmas cookie cutters, which Meredith hadn't even known they owned, to make tiny gingerbread people. They stamped them into the chilly dough, then laid them out on the cookie sheet. Meredith was actually finding some talent in it, and Derek couldn't help but to notice that she was smiling to herself. By the time they were finished, Meredith's smile dropped. "What's wrong?" He asked quietly, inspecting the oven to make sure it was preheated.

"The little people. They're missing something."

"What? What are they missing?" He asked, amused. She tapped her chin for a moment, until she reached her conclusion.

"I know!" She fingered two diminutive balls of dough and pressed them on a few of the people. Derek stood up and craned his neck to see what she was doing, then gasped and snorted with laughter.

"Meredith!" He chuckled at the new people, the _modified _people.

"What?" She shrugged. "They needed boobs. *Us, with the boobs, make a lot of bad decisions, you know…" She smiled innocently up at Derek who just laughed, kissing her on the forehead.

"You know I love you, right?"

"Yeah. Even with my feminine gingerbread people?"

"Yeah." He laughed, pulling her closely and smelling the aroma of gingerbread that wafted up from the kitchen.

XXX

"What are we watching?" Meredith inquired simply, plopping on the couch with a plate of mini gingerbread people after dinner. She snuggled in next to Derek, who sat in flannel pajama pants and his classic grey t-shirt. It was completely dark outside now, and you could faintly see the specks of shimmering white snow that fell, cascading down from the sky in ripples.

"Frosty the Snowman," He replied as the TV screen started playing some sort of tune that held bells and happy singing. Meredith scowled and looked at him, chomping down on a gingerbread woman.

"Seriously, Derek? Frosty the Snowman? I'm pretty sure that movie is for little kids."

"Have you ever seen it?" He demanded.

"No, but~"

"Then don't judge." He cut her off with a grin and she rolled her eyes and shook her head. The Christmas tree had been decorated and the lights were on and shimmering in the corner. Derek grinned and kissed her on the nose as the movie progressed. She shimmied into the crook of his arm as they shared their cookies. She pulled a blanket that lay on the floor over them. The stockings that hung over the chimney- _Derek, Meredith_- were green and red and gold, and they reflected off the Christmas tree's lights.

"Wait, how did he come to life?" Meredith demanded.

"Uh… I don't really know. The Christmas magic?" Derek asked jokingly, popping another gingerbread woman in his mouth. "It's a movie, Mer."

"I know, but it doesn't make any sense," She frowned. "Now he's singing! Snowmen don't sing, Derek!" Derek rolled his eyes and Meredith stared intently at the screen.

He mocked her, "'I'm pretty sure that movie is for little kids,' Mer." She swatted his arm and he laughed, feigning hurt.

"Well, it's giving them false hope!" He looked at her skeptically. "I'm serious! What if I was a little kid and decided to build a snowman because I wanted it to sing and dance, but it didn't! What about that, Derek? I'd be pretty bummed out. Actually it'd crush my spirit."

Derek looked at her and chuckled, grabbing the remote and pressing his finger into the button. The TV clicked off. "There. How about a different movie?"

Meredith pursed her lips, then broke out into a smile, "Please."

"Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?"

"More spirit crushing- noses don't glow red." Derek rolled his eyes.

"Alright, how about…." He racked his brain for ideas. "Elf? That's a good movie. It's not about singing snowmen, either." She looked at him, staring him down. "I promise. It's hilarious, too. Okay?"

"Fine, Derek," She smiled at him as he got up to shove it into the DVD player. The opening credits rolled on the screen, and he settled back into the couch with her. He kissed her forehead.

Meredith's laughs could be heard throughout the movie.

XXX

"What do we do now?" Meredith asked softly when the movie had finished. Her feet were propped up on the coffee table next to the empty plate where the cookies once were, and now there were only crumbs left. Candles flickered, casting a cozy glow and sending a sweet aroma floating about the room. She sighed contently into his chest. He trailed his fingers up and down her back softly, kissing the top of her head. Her hair still smelled as if it was made of gingerbread. He shrugged unknowingly, smiling down at her. "We can each open one present we got each other…" She tried.

He looked at her, "But we said we weren't going to get each other presents?"

She smiled, "I lied."

He returned the smile, "Me too." They kissed again, their lips locking in a warm embrace. A knock at the door rang though the house and they exchanged a glance, puzzled, as they got up from the couch. Meredith dropped the plate in the kitchen on her way to the door, and it clattered against the countertop. When Derek flung the door open, there stood a group of people bundled up warmly and holding paper sheets. She looked at them, confused.

"Merry Christmas!" They exclaimed.

"And to you as well. But, we don't want anything you're selling, thanks anyway!" Meredith chided cheerfully, shutting the door and looking over at Derek. He looked horrified. "What?"

"They're carolers, Meredith!" He gasped, opening the door for them again.

"Oh."

"I'm sorry about that," He apologized. Meredith glared at him. "We didn't realize who you were. Merry Christmas to you as well."

They nodded at him enthusiastically, then began singing the tune to 'Carol of the Bells.' At first, Meredith was certain she'd be annoyed with the random jumble of singing people, acting all cheery and bright or whatever. But surprisingly enough, she didn't mind it. Derek wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her closer to him. The snow danced outside, as if in tune to the music. By the end of the sweet, melodic song, Derek looked down at Meredith spontaneously. She looked up at him.

Their lips locked together and they kissed. Meredith reached her arm up, snaking it around his neck, and played with the small curls behind his head. He embraced her tightly. "Merry Christmas."

_**A/N: So, do you understand what's going on a little clearer now? The next chapter will tell the story of how they put up their Christmas lights (as you can see I didn't go into that in this chapter.) **_

**Anyways, comments are very appreciated**_**. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you enjoy the little Meredith and Derek fluff and fun I'm making. **_

_**Thanks for reading! **_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Thanks for you guys for the few reviews, and thank you to my readers! I'm so glad y'all are enjoying this. Here is a little, fun, Derek and Meredith have fun in the snow type of thing. Enjoy!**_

**-Putting Up The Christmas Lights—**

**(-That Morning-)**

_Splash!_

The water that Meredith had used to rinse off her face sloshed and gurgled as it traveled back down the sink, leaving her clean face glistening with drops of warm water. She rubbed at her face, her hands getting damp, until she gave up and grabbed a brown hand towel that hung next to the sink. She patted at her face and blinked, looking into her reflection that stared back at her in the foggy and clouded mirror. The clocks small hands directed towards 9:25, and she grinned despite herself. It was more time then she usually got to sleep. Although her cereal had been close to repulsive, it was all right, because she felt the rare and wonderful feeling of being alive and awake and alert.

As she let her hair down from its ponytail, it cascaded, bouncing along her shoulders in large, wavy curls. She patted her messy bangs around her face, tugging her fingers through the knotted strands. She shook her head once, letting the hair flip and fly, loosening up from it's tightness she gained from sleep. Suddenly, the swaying sounds of cheerful music traveled down the hallway, meeting her ears in a bright melody:

_Oh, the weather outside is frightful. _

_But the fire, is so, delightful. _

_And since we've no place to go,_

_Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!_

"Derek?" She called sharply, flicking off the lights and shutting the door with an affirming click. She padded down the hallway until she reached the stairs, and they creaked and squealed under her weight. When her gliding socks finally reached the bottom of the staircase, her jaw fell open. The stereo Derek often used to play Clash music was back in business, blasting Christmas music- and dust- around the room. She ran her hands through her hair. "Derek Christopher Shepherd? What is this?" She didn't get pleasured with a response, though, and she groaned.

_Oh the fire is slowly dying,_

_But my dear, we're still goodbye-ing._

She yanked on the sleeves of her jacket and gloves, pulling a hat atop her head as well. She gripped the handle of the door and yanked it open.

He was outside, foolishly and inexpertly grasping the one metal ladder that they owned. It slipped unsteadily between his gloves. The snow swirled outside, dancing and cascading from the bright, gray sky. The flakes glimmered and fluttered, covering the treetops in blankets and sheeting the area in a caked on layer of white powder. He looked up at him, his black hair speckled with white flakes, and his grin crept across his cheeks. "Hey! Nice of you to finally emerge."

"What is playing inside?" Meredith demanded, shutting the door behind her and stepping outside into the winter wonderland.

"Christmas music," He answered simply, fumbling with the slippery sides of the shiny metal ladder. Lights sat in a tangled heap on the snow-dusted porch, and the flakes were beginning to lay on them in a caked icing.

"No kidding. I mean, the correct question… is _why?" _She enunciated, tapping her feet and rubbing her arms in the chilly air that nipped her cheeks. "It's so bright and shiny. Is that natural?"

His warm laugh gave her the chills, "Yes. It's Christmas, Meredith. Lighten up," He grinned at her again before finally prying the ladder open. It clanged against the frozen ground as he tried to scrape it in steadily. She huffed, crossing her arms, and he looked back over at her, a smirk creeping across his face. "Smile! Or something."

"No," She retorted.

He propped the upside down V shaped ladder facing the side of the snow-rimmed house, then crouched down, twirling the snow between his gloved fingertips, "Don't be a scrooge…" He trailed off, slowly gathering small bits of powder between his palms. Meredith rolled her eyes again and stomped plaintively in the snow.

"What are you _talking _about?" She said, obliviously scowling. "I don't even know what a 'Scrooge' is, but I'm pretty sure it's a derogatory term of~"

But she was cut off; as Derek whipped up the snowball he had been simultaneously hatching in his hand, he stood up, wound up his arm, and hurled the snowball at her, cackling. She let out a scream at it whapped against her coat in her stomach area. "DEREK!" She squealed, inspecting the white spot on her black coat. He was howling with hysterical, near the point of the effigy of slapping his knee. "Are you insane?"

Derek just laughed, throwing his head back for effect and shutting his eyes. Meredith rapidly bent down, grabbing a chunk of snow, and chucking it at him less-than-gracefully. It went flying through the cold air and smacked him in the chest. He gasped and looked at her, and she stood, smirking, brushing off her palms. They smiled menacingly at each other, "Oh, I see how it is." He snarled, gathering more snow in his hands and pitching it. As she tried to duck it pinned her in the chest and she squealed, narrowing her eyes at him.

She bent down, "Watch the boobs, mister!" She grabbed some more balls of fluffy powder and hurled them, one after another, back at him. They smacked him as he tried to fight back, sending spinning balls at her. They erupted into a mountain of laughter by the time they were both caked with white snow marks that had exploded on their clothing.

Meredith wiped her eyes and looked at him, "So, maybe snow _could _be fun. Maybe." He smiled at her happily and pulled chunks of a snowball out of his matted black hair.

"I don't want to say I told you so, but…."

"Then don't say it," She cut him off, smirking happily. The snow danced around them, gaining in its heaviness. He shook his head, in awe at her, and went back to trying to climb the shaky ladder. His boots slipped and squeaked against the snowy rungs. Meredith tried her best to hold it steady for him, "If you fall, Derek Shepherd, you're going to be in trouble. Just because I'm not necessarily a holiday person, that doesn't mean I want to spend Christmas in the emergency room…" She giggled and finished, "…treating you."

"I'm not…" He wobbled, then finished, "…going to fall. Hand me the lights."

She did as instructed, passing the lights up to him through the blizzard of snow. He clasped them in between his heavily gloved hands and began tacking them to the rim of the roof. Meredith held the bottom of the ladder tightly as it trembled, until he finished the light job. By the time he finished her hands were numb, and she blinked to life when he shook her, reminding her he was done. "I'm finished. And I didn't injure myself," She nodded blankly, forcing a smile through her freezing lips. "Want to go make hot chocolate or something? Before we get the tree?"

She walked back up to the house and gripped the handle, wriggling it. It didn't budge, "Derek?" She called, her voice raising in a pitch as her teeth chattered. "Derek, the lock. It's locked. Do you have a key?"

She spun to face him and he narrowed his eyebrows, "Nope. Do…you?" Her eyes widened. "Mer, are we locked out of our own house?" She sighed and rolled her eyes in frustration, kicking at the door as snow scattered from her boots. She jiggled the cold handle more, whacking it with her frozen palms. "Well, this is just great!"

"Derek, stop joking! I'm FREEZING!" She snapped at him. When it seemed that her ruthless jiggling and wriggling wasn't going to work, she turned back to him in a huff. He eyed the ladder. She followed his sharp, knowing gaze, then widened her eyes. "Heck. No. I'm not going to climb up that thing."

"Do you want to get hyperthermia?"

"You realize asking rhetorical questions isn't going to solve anything, right?" She huffed. "Fine, I'll climb it. If I fall, you have to catch me."

"I promise."

"Okay," She shrugged, encircling the ladder, trying to envision the best way to climb it. She gripped the sides and took shaky steps on the slippery rungs. "Derek…"

"I'm right here."

"I know, I know. I just… strongly dislike heights." She shut her eyes and kept taking steps, holding onto the sides of the ladder for dear life, not letting it slip from her hands the fraction of an inch. She took seemingly step after step, repeating to herself _I will not fall on Derek. I will not fall on Derek. _When it seemed like it had been ages she paused, "Am I there yet?" She yelled down to him, her cold legs trembling.

"Meredith, open your eyes." She blinked them open and the mesh of a palette of colors formed into shapes. She directed her gaze down.

She had taken two steps.

"I was totally kidding. I can do this on my own."

"Do you need my help?" He called to her jokingly as she took a few more wobbly steps.

"Shut up Derek," She said simply, her nose stinging from the cold air that nipped at her bare skin. She added, "You're not my knight in shining… whatever." She took a few more nimble steps.

Below her he beamed, "I _so _am your knight in shining whatever." She climbed and climbed until she reached the window. She fumbled with the ledge and used her cold, trembling fingers to unclasp the window. It let out a gust of heat waves to radiate her face and she gasped. Before she could process what she did, she tumbled into the house, falling directly onto the floor with a smash. She shook it off and walked downstairs rapidly.

She briskly pulled off of her coat and hung it on the rack. It was damp from the melted snowballs. She yanked off her boats and flung them across the foyer, and snow scattered. By the time she had managed to weasel the gloves off of her hand her fingers were bright red, cold and clammy.

"Guess what?" She heard his voice from behind her.

"What?"

"The door was open the whole time. You were turning it the wrong way."

She glared at him and strutted away. She pulled chunks of snow out of her hair and padded her way into the living room, where Christmas music still hummed from the old stereo.

_Outside the snow is falling and friends are calling yoo-hoo! _

Meredith skipped to the next track. She would turn it off, but she knew Derek would probably have it back in before she could exhale. She waited and listened as the stereo sputtered, then buzzed and bleeped. She could hear Derek pulling off his coat and boots; the sound of the coat rack squealing beneath her weight carried into the room. The stereo beeped once more and she sighed.

_I don't want a lot for Christmas  
There's just one thing I need_

The tune of this song was catchy. She listened more, swaying with the quick beat.

_I don't care about the presents  
Underneath the Christmas tree  
I don't need to hang my stocking  
There upon the fireplace _

The tune was also fast. She liked it. Before she knew it her whole body was dancing, stepping, flailing: and she spun around to the beat, singing along to words she really didn't know.

_Santa Claus won't make me happy  
With a toy on Christmas day  
I just want you for my own  
More than you could ever know  
Make my wish come true  
All I want for Christmas is you  
You baby_

_I won't ask for much this Christmas  
I don't even wish for snow  
I'm just gonna keep on waiting  
Underneath the mistletoe _

She opened her eyes and blinked to see Derek come into focus, propped on the doorway and grinning smugly at her. "Meredith, what are you doing?"

_I won't make a list and send it  
To the North Pole for Saint Nick  
I won't even stay awake to  
Hear those magic reindeers click  
'Cause I just want you here tonight  
Holding on to me so tight  
What more can I do  
Baby all I want for Christmas is you  
Ooh baby _

"I'm dancing, Derek. What do you think I'm doing?" She spun, then stopped and eyed him. "Come here."

"What?"

_All the lights are shining  
So brightly everywhere  
And the sound of children's  
Laughter fills the air _

"Derek!" She whined, "You heard me! Get your butt _over here." _He smiled and chuckled, then swayed over to her. She took his hands and spun. "Dance, move, do something!"

_And everyone is singing  
I hear those sleigh bells ringing  
Santa won't you bring me the one I really need  
Won't you please bring my baby to me... _

He looked at her like she was insane for a second, but gave in and flailed around. He danced quickly, placing his weight back and forth on his feet, then spinning, then grabbing her hands and spinning her into his chest. They bounced up and down to the beat, Meredith throwing in a few power-filled fist pumps here and there. 

_Oh I don't want a lot for Christmas  
This is all I'm asking for  
I just want to see my baby  
Standing right outside my door _

They danced and danced, laughing and holding each others arms. They swung and swooped and even threw in a Charleston swing, then twirled and jumped again in their own little make shift mosh-pit.

_Oh I just want you for my own  
More than you could ever know  
Make my wish come true _

He smiled at her and reached down, their lips meeting. She wrapped her hands around his neck and let her fingers pick through the back of his raven curls, closing her eyes and pulling him closer as they slowed their pace down to a swaying.

_Baby all I want for Christmas is...  
You_

Meredith looked at him and laughed- really laughed- with a full, wholehearted smile sweeping across her face. "So, Christmas music isn't _terrible…" _

"I don't want to say I told you so…" He trailed off, kissing her forehead again.

"…Then don't."

_**A/N: Comments are appreciated, thanks for reading! **_

_**The songs used were: **_

_**-Let it Snow  
**_

_**-Sleigh Ride**_

_**-All I Want For Christmas Is You**_

_**(I don't own them, just love 'em :)  
**_


End file.
